In his novel Goldfinger, author Ian Fleming wrote: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action". This was in reference to the title character's meetings with James Bond. While not as dramatic, that phrase holds some relevance to the public mood towards the New Zealand team after their latest collapse, the second sub-100 innings in six Tests.

Here was the eighth-best side in the world, who had competed credibly across three Tests and three days with No. 2, England, dispatched in an hour and 54 minutes for 68 at Lord's. Remarkably it was only their third-lowest score in 82 years' cricket at the ground after episodes of 47 in 1958 and 67 in 1978.

Given the surrender for 45 in the first innings in Cape Town, a traumatised public will take a while to stop shuddering when two quick wickets are lost anytime soon. They are shaken and stirred. The Lord's rout prised a scab off prematurely, regardless of the message coach Mike Hesson repeated several times post-match about "18 days" of reputable Test cricket since South Africa.

Unfortunately that calculation leaves eight days since the start of the year buried under question marks. The 68 consisted of the second-lowest number of overs New Zealand have faced in an innings (22.3). Cape Town was the lowest (19.2). It is the third time New Zealand have been six down for less than 40 this year - the same happened in Port Elizabeth until BJ Watling helped cobble together 121.

A third capitulation, at Headingley, might not result in enemy action but it will undo the repair work that highlighted the home summer. Hesson summed up the situation well when he said: "The location, the occasion and the chance to win a Test at Lord's got to us. We were a bit timid with the bat and the quality England bowlers took hold."

The exception on the fourth day was Tim Southee who became the 17th New Zealander to be immortalised on the visitors' dressing-room honours board with innings figures of 6 for 50 and match figures of 10 for 108. He joins Dion Nash as the only other New Zealander to take 10 or more wickets in a Test at the Marylebone Cricket Club. It was his first Test 10-wicket bag, underlining his status as the country's premier strike bowler.

New Zealand fans could be forgiven a bout of indigestion during their Nursery ground picnics as their team slumped to 29 for 6 at lunch. Even Father Time had turned his back from atop his weather vane and looked like he was scarpering for St John's Wood Rd as the clock struck 1pm. The prospect of a second Test win in 16 attempts at Lord's was gone.

The batting order faced an uncompromising bowling double act in Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who swung the ball from a full length anywhere from off to an imaginary fourth stump. Any international batsman would have found it formidable.

A capitulation at Headingley might not result in enemy action but it will undo the repair work that highlighted the home summer

Experts have spoken of a lack of footwork being the main culprit, which left most fending at the ball with their bat and hands. There are even suggestions among observers that New Zealand should practise without bats to get feet moving into line with the ball, so they are better prepared to play on spicier wickets than at home. Another thought was to bring in Headingley and Yorkshire doyen Geoffrey Boycott to observe and offer batting home truths at practice this week. Injuries to Watling and Bruce Martin didn't help. Martin's right-calf injury has subsequently seen him head home.

Consequently the team is leaning towards playing Daniel Vettori if he proves his fitness. He will be tested in the coming days after working as a net bowler without game time for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Vettori last played a Test for New Zealand in July on the West Indies tour.

A look through 2013 Headingley scorecards raises questions about its spin-friendliness. The best bowling by a spinner has come from former legspinner Adil Rashid. He took match figures of 5 for 183 from 50 overs when Yorkshire crushed Derbyshire by an innings and 39 runs at the start of May. Otherwise match figures suggest it has been a seamer's den, including a number of five-wicket bags. Not even England left-arm orthodox spinner Monty Panesar could get a wicket, albeit in early April, when he finished with none for 64 off 26 overs for the match.

If Vettori is not fit, New Zealand will consider calling in Jeetan Patel, who is playing at Warwickshire and took a five-wicket bag against Yorkshire at Edgbaston last week. Patel played and was subsequently dropped after the tour to South Africa.

Cloud cover and rain are in the long-range forecast. Pakistan used such conditions to their advantage in Leeds for a three-wicket win in the neutral 2010 Test series against Australia. Convicted spot-fixers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir worked their magic on that occasion.

Hesson did not rule out overhead conditions influencing team thinking where Doug Bracewell could play as a fourth pace bowler. If Watling is ruled out, McCullum might take the gloves and bat at No. 7, with Martin Guptill or Tom Latham slotting into the middle order. Alternatively Latham could take the gloves after doing the job against Derbyshire. The instinct is to stick with the status quo where possible. They deserve perseverance. However, a collapse from a potential winning position requires introspection.

If Watling plays then it seems foolish to panic and change an order that largely delivered in more batting-friendly New Zealand conditions. The Hamish Rutherford-Peter Fulton combination looks fragile in England, yet both players have made two centuries against English attacks of late. Fulton made his in the third Test, at Eden Park; Rutherford scored his on debut, in Dunedin, and against the Lions at Grace Road.

Hesson offered loyalty to Fulton in particular, who has struggled with just 34 runs from five innings on tour. English conditions have troubled his game, despite intense extra workouts with batting coach Bob Carter. Fulton's dismissals have included a couple of lbws and a concrete-footed waft to Broad in his second innings at Lord's. The rest of the order warrants a reprieve.

As a supporter, 68 is difficult to swallow. But there were some mitigating factors involved: overhead conditions; the pitch; a red-hot spell by Broad who, while inconsistent, has devastated plenty of line-ups when he finds this sort of form. Jimmy in the form of his life at the other end hardly helped.

But what's really deflating is that NZ faltered at every stage of the batting performance. Openers gone early in both digs, only one real partnership that didn't go on, poor use of DRS by Taylor & Baz which possibly cost them Williamson AND BJ's 1st innings wickets, Southee's clueless swatting at number six, a farcical runout, the list goes on. The only two batsman I think can hold their heads up are Rutherford and Martin, and that's only because both got served two cherries each. Kane & BJ get passes for the 1st innings, seeing as neither looked to be out.

To be fair, a humiliating fourth-innings collapse IS progress, when your starting point is a humiliating first-innings collapse.

Hammond
on May 23, 2013, 9:52 GMT

@liz1558- don't use Australia as a yardstick of any quality.. they've only won 3 matches against England since 2006, and that included a test series in Australia.

BnH1985Fan
on May 22, 2013, 23:56 GMT

There have been too many unhealthy events in NZ cricket lately. Unfortunate because NZ could/should have won this game. We need to motivate everyone, and I am glad Dan's back. Hope he can input like he did when he was the captain.

R_U_4_REAL_NICK
on May 22, 2013, 20:29 GMT

Aus. team/fans are quaking on their armchairs as well. There's great counseling groups here in U.K. for things like this.

SirViv1973
on May 22, 2013, 18:34 GMT

@King78787, Although I would agree that Vettori does offer balance to the side & his inclusion potentially allows NZL to play 5 bowlers when needed, I think the problem is that I don't think he will be around the test side for too much longer. Although 34 is in no way old for a spin bowling all rounder, he has been playing test cricket for some 16 yrs and with the opportunities to earn so much money in domestic T20 leagues I would be surprised if he continues to play tests for much longer. I don't get the impression that he is all that bothered about trying to get 400 wickets or trying to past Sir Richard Hadlee's record. He has also become more injury prone in recent times which may also hasten his departure from the longer forms.

jackiethepen
on May 22, 2013, 14:50 GMT

Somerset are all out for 76 first innings. Are they a bad team? No. Will they sack the coach and captain. No. Will they do anything? Try to win the next game.

Jordanious77
on May 22, 2013, 12:49 GMT

i like kiwicricketnut's team :) except i would play brownlie instead of Guptil. Sure Brownlie has been average, but Guptil has proved time and time again that he's useless against the swinging ball, he's just catching practice for the slips.

jmcilhinney
on May 22, 2013, 12:14 GMT

@EnglishCricket on (May 22, 2013, 8:21 GMT), how many Tests do Zimbabwe and Bangladesh play against SA and England? Have Zimbabwe and Bangladesh won a Test in Australia and another in SL? NZ have talent but consistency is always a problem. They don't have the money that some nations do or the populations that others do so they are always behind the 8-ball. Sometimes it all goes bad at the same time and this is the result. If the bits in between are consistently better or the stretches longer then that's progress. Even if progress is made though, NZ are not likely to consistently challenge the top nations until they produce another freakish talent like Richard Hadlee, just by law of averages.

liz1558
on May 22, 2013, 11:38 GMT

NZ fans should remember that pretty much the same side beat Aus in their own back yard recently; they can beat England. To quote Princess Leia, it's not over yet.

on May 22, 2013, 11:34 GMT

I don't think New Zealand should panic or start chopping and changing the side after Lord's. The occasions where they were bowled out for under 100, they were up against the two best bowling attacks in the world. Keep cool heads, dig in, move on.

SameOld
on May 21, 2013, 23:51 GMT

As a supporter, 68 is difficult to swallow. But there were some mitigating factors involved: overhead conditions; the pitch; a red-hot spell by Broad who, while inconsistent, has devastated plenty of line-ups when he finds this sort of form. Jimmy in the form of his life at the other end hardly helped.

But what's really deflating is that NZ faltered at every stage of the batting performance. Openers gone early in both digs, only one real partnership that didn't go on, poor use of DRS by Taylor & Baz which possibly cost them Williamson AND BJ's 1st innings wickets, Southee's clueless swatting at number six, a farcical runout, the list goes on. The only two batsman I think can hold their heads up are Rutherford and Martin, and that's only because both got served two cherries each. Kane & BJ get passes for the 1st innings, seeing as neither looked to be out.

To be fair, a humiliating fourth-innings collapse IS progress, when your starting point is a humiliating first-innings collapse.

Hammond
on May 23, 2013, 9:52 GMT

@liz1558- don't use Australia as a yardstick of any quality.. they've only won 3 matches against England since 2006, and that included a test series in Australia.

BnH1985Fan
on May 22, 2013, 23:56 GMT

There have been too many unhealthy events in NZ cricket lately. Unfortunate because NZ could/should have won this game. We need to motivate everyone, and I am glad Dan's back. Hope he can input like he did when he was the captain.

R_U_4_REAL_NICK
on May 22, 2013, 20:29 GMT

Aus. team/fans are quaking on their armchairs as well. There's great counseling groups here in U.K. for things like this.

SirViv1973
on May 22, 2013, 18:34 GMT

@King78787, Although I would agree that Vettori does offer balance to the side & his inclusion potentially allows NZL to play 5 bowlers when needed, I think the problem is that I don't think he will be around the test side for too much longer. Although 34 is in no way old for a spin bowling all rounder, he has been playing test cricket for some 16 yrs and with the opportunities to earn so much money in domestic T20 leagues I would be surprised if he continues to play tests for much longer. I don't get the impression that he is all that bothered about trying to get 400 wickets or trying to past Sir Richard Hadlee's record. He has also become more injury prone in recent times which may also hasten his departure from the longer forms.

jackiethepen
on May 22, 2013, 14:50 GMT

Somerset are all out for 76 first innings. Are they a bad team? No. Will they sack the coach and captain. No. Will they do anything? Try to win the next game.

Jordanious77
on May 22, 2013, 12:49 GMT

i like kiwicricketnut's team :) except i would play brownlie instead of Guptil. Sure Brownlie has been average, but Guptil has proved time and time again that he's useless against the swinging ball, he's just catching practice for the slips.

jmcilhinney
on May 22, 2013, 12:14 GMT

@EnglishCricket on (May 22, 2013, 8:21 GMT), how many Tests do Zimbabwe and Bangladesh play against SA and England? Have Zimbabwe and Bangladesh won a Test in Australia and another in SL? NZ have talent but consistency is always a problem. They don't have the money that some nations do or the populations that others do so they are always behind the 8-ball. Sometimes it all goes bad at the same time and this is the result. If the bits in between are consistently better or the stretches longer then that's progress. Even if progress is made though, NZ are not likely to consistently challenge the top nations until they produce another freakish talent like Richard Hadlee, just by law of averages.

liz1558
on May 22, 2013, 11:38 GMT

NZ fans should remember that pretty much the same side beat Aus in their own back yard recently; they can beat England. To quote Princess Leia, it's not over yet.

on May 22, 2013, 11:34 GMT

I don't think New Zealand should panic or start chopping and changing the side after Lord's. The occasions where they were bowled out for under 100, they were up against the two best bowling attacks in the world. Keep cool heads, dig in, move on.

cloudmess
on May 22, 2013, 10:05 GMT

As an England supporter, I feel a bit sorry for the NZ team. They could easily have won the home test series. Had they batted first at Lord's, I honestly think it could have been a different story there too. Don't do anything drastic - you have played some very good cricket and are not out of this series.

EnglishCricket
on May 22, 2013, 8:21 GMT

8th best side of 106 nations? of course its something to be proud of if that many nations 'really' play Cricket but Cricket rankings is not normal compared to other sports. The fact of the matter is that New Zealand have been bowled out for less than 70 on 2 occasions this year alone something even Zimbabwe or Bangladesh hardly even do.

Ms.Cricket
on May 22, 2013, 7:33 GMT

Hesson should go as coach and McCullum should step down as captain and keep. There is no Test match culture in the current team with the se two (irrespective of the one-off performances in the recent home series against England)

Itachi_san
on May 22, 2013, 7:33 GMT

Simple fact is the team doesn't care enough about what the supporters think! They're an over rated bunch of cricketers, who obsess about how they're thought of, rather than performance on the field. If these guys showed half the mana/pride of the rugby teams, there wouldnt be half as many excuses, and always seeing the bright spot in shoddy performances. If they all just learn to first draw games then they can look at trying to win, and I dont mean by having dead home pitches to achieve that. Honestly these guys dont care if fans stop watching cricket, as theres always IPL,BigBash and the rest of the jazz to take up their time, if not getting touchy about what someone said. If only they were half as touchy about how hey performed!

Romanticstud
on May 22, 2013, 6:58 GMT

New Zealand has been going through a tough patch for a while now ... The second innings is just the same as the 49 against South Africa ... Broad and Anderson are good bowlers, no doubt, and so too are Steyn, Philander, Morkel and Kallis ... but to advance, why Guptill not in the XI and why not drop Fulton to number 3 ... Where is Mills ... He gave South Africa a few problems ...

kiwicricketnut
on May 22, 2013, 5:32 GMT

Lets put a few of these guys in the naughty corner for a not surprising 4th innings but definately unacceptable one, im going to contridict everything ive said about giving fulton a decent go and play latham instead, not just because fulton failed but the way he has failed,he has been found out and i cant see how he can score any runs from here on, maybe take him to the sub continent but where it swings his shoddy technique is badly exposed, dropping brownlie for guptil could be considered harsh but if we keep settling for mediocre thats all we will get. Playing XI for next test. Rutherford, latham, williamson,taylor,guptil, mccullum, watling, bracewell, southee, wagner, boult

on May 21, 2013, 20:50 GMT

Lets not forget some notable English collapses in recent years. Given the conditions, it would not have been out of character to have seen a similarly dismal effort from the hosts last week.

king78787
on May 21, 2013, 18:49 GMT

Vettori is the saving grace of this team. Good enough to bat at 6 or 7, provides slow left arm spin as a bowler and takes wickets. Mc cullum can keep and provide cameos at 7 and with taylor,brownlie at 4 and 5 the middle order is stable. Vettori can obviously bowl which means Bracewell can play instead of Martin. Gives NZ a order thats bats down to no8(southee is no mug with the bat) and a bowling attack of 5 specialist bowlers. Even if Vettori bats at no7 they can still play Bracewell. NZ XI for Headingly:Fulton,Rutherford,Williamson,Taylor,Brownlie,Vettori,Mc Cullum, Bracewell, Southee, Wagner, Boult.

SameOld
on May 21, 2013, 23:51 GMT

As a supporter, 68 is difficult to swallow. But there were some mitigating factors involved: overhead conditions; the pitch; a red-hot spell by Broad who, while inconsistent, has devastated plenty of line-ups when he finds this sort of form. Jimmy in the form of his life at the other end hardly helped.

But what's really deflating is that NZ faltered at every stage of the batting performance. Openers gone early in both digs, only one real partnership that didn't go on, poor use of DRS by Taylor & Baz which possibly cost them Williamson AND BJ's 1st innings wickets, Southee's clueless swatting at number six, a farcical runout, the list goes on. The only two batsman I think can hold their heads up are Rutherford and Martin, and that's only because both got served two cherries each. Kane & BJ get passes for the 1st innings, seeing as neither looked to be out.

To be fair, a humiliating fourth-innings collapse IS progress, when your starting point is a humiliating first-innings collapse.

king78787
on May 21, 2013, 18:49 GMT

Vettori is the saving grace of this team. Good enough to bat at 6 or 7, provides slow left arm spin as a bowler and takes wickets. Mc cullum can keep and provide cameos at 7 and with taylor,brownlie at 4 and 5 the middle order is stable. Vettori can obviously bowl which means Bracewell can play instead of Martin. Gives NZ a order thats bats down to no8(southee is no mug with the bat) and a bowling attack of 5 specialist bowlers. Even if Vettori bats at no7 they can still play Bracewell. NZ XI for Headingly:Fulton,Rutherford,Williamson,Taylor,Brownlie,Vettori,Mc Cullum, Bracewell, Southee, Wagner, Boult.

on May 21, 2013, 20:50 GMT

Lets not forget some notable English collapses in recent years. Given the conditions, it would not have been out of character to have seen a similarly dismal effort from the hosts last week.

kiwicricketnut
on May 22, 2013, 5:32 GMT

Lets put a few of these guys in the naughty corner for a not surprising 4th innings but definately unacceptable one, im going to contridict everything ive said about giving fulton a decent go and play latham instead, not just because fulton failed but the way he has failed,he has been found out and i cant see how he can score any runs from here on, maybe take him to the sub continent but where it swings his shoddy technique is badly exposed, dropping brownlie for guptil could be considered harsh but if we keep settling for mediocre thats all we will get. Playing XI for next test. Rutherford, latham, williamson,taylor,guptil, mccullum, watling, bracewell, southee, wagner, boult

Romanticstud
on May 22, 2013, 6:58 GMT

New Zealand has been going through a tough patch for a while now ... The second innings is just the same as the 49 against South Africa ... Broad and Anderson are good bowlers, no doubt, and so too are Steyn, Philander, Morkel and Kallis ... but to advance, why Guptill not in the XI and why not drop Fulton to number 3 ... Where is Mills ... He gave South Africa a few problems ...

Itachi_san
on May 22, 2013, 7:33 GMT

Simple fact is the team doesn't care enough about what the supporters think! They're an over rated bunch of cricketers, who obsess about how they're thought of, rather than performance on the field. If these guys showed half the mana/pride of the rugby teams, there wouldnt be half as many excuses, and always seeing the bright spot in shoddy performances. If they all just learn to first draw games then they can look at trying to win, and I dont mean by having dead home pitches to achieve that. Honestly these guys dont care if fans stop watching cricket, as theres always IPL,BigBash and the rest of the jazz to take up their time, if not getting touchy about what someone said. If only they were half as touchy about how hey performed!

Ms.Cricket
on May 22, 2013, 7:33 GMT

Hesson should go as coach and McCullum should step down as captain and keep. There is no Test match culture in the current team with the se two (irrespective of the one-off performances in the recent home series against England)

EnglishCricket
on May 22, 2013, 8:21 GMT

8th best side of 106 nations? of course its something to be proud of if that many nations 'really' play Cricket but Cricket rankings is not normal compared to other sports. The fact of the matter is that New Zealand have been bowled out for less than 70 on 2 occasions this year alone something even Zimbabwe or Bangladesh hardly even do.

cloudmess
on May 22, 2013, 10:05 GMT

As an England supporter, I feel a bit sorry for the NZ team. They could easily have won the home test series. Had they batted first at Lord's, I honestly think it could have been a different story there too. Don't do anything drastic - you have played some very good cricket and are not out of this series.

on May 22, 2013, 11:34 GMT

I don't think New Zealand should panic or start chopping and changing the side after Lord's. The occasions where they were bowled out for under 100, they were up against the two best bowling attacks in the world. Keep cool heads, dig in, move on.

liz1558
on May 22, 2013, 11:38 GMT

NZ fans should remember that pretty much the same side beat Aus in their own back yard recently; they can beat England. To quote Princess Leia, it's not over yet.